


Lights and Love

by Sternenstaub



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baking, Christmas, Decorating, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Married Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27960641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sternenstaub/pseuds/Sternenstaub
Summary: Eskel and Jaskier prepare their home for christmas. Things are not as easy as they look but together they will finish before their guests arrive.
Relationships: Eskel/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40
Collections: Bards of Geraskier Secret Santa 2020





	Lights and Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [concertconfetti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/concertconfetti/gifts).



> Merry Christmas Gedion! You requested Eskel and I was more than happy to provide.
> 
> Thanks to octinary for being my beta! You rock!

"Jaskier? Can you hold the end of the chain of lights? They won't stay." Eskel stood precariously on a ladder in front of the house, wrestling with Christmas lights that he was sure had a will of their own, waiting for his husband to arrive and keep him from falling. He'd wanted this to be their first perfect Christmas together but as he looked at the house and all the work still to be done he was starting to wonder if maybe he'd taken on too much.

He could only see a mop of brown hair walk out through the entrance door before blue eyes looked up at him in mirth, "However did you manage to wrap the lights around yourself?" Jaskier laughed, but took the end of the string and started to untangle his husband from the ladder before he could fall.

“I did nothing! The chain is evil!” Eskel complained, but also couldn't stop laughing at the pitiful image he must make right now.

Once freed, Eskel climbed back to ground level, the lights would have to wait until his hands got their feeling back. Was December supposed to be this cold? He felt a lot more comfortable to have both of his feet hit the ground, even if it was slightly slippery. Jaskier shivered next to him; he hadn't bothered to put on a jacket before rescuing his husband it seemed, and his nose was turning red rapidly. Eskel took Jaskier´s arms and rubbed them before he put a tiny kiss on his nose, cold like ice, and laughed when Jaskier scrunched up his face adorably, “You'll catch a cold like this.”

“Then you can nurse me back to health and I won't have to cook the Christmas dinner. Really, Eskel, did we have to invite 6 people?”

He rubbed his neck in embarrassment, maybe they had overdone it but Eskel had been so excited, he'd told his family about their Christmas plans and invited Geralt, and well Geralt would bring Ciri and Yennefer, Lambert would not want to be the only one without a partner and demand to would bring his new boyfriend, Adrian or Aiden or something like that, and of course they wouldn't celebrate without Vesemir. Jaskier had agreed to cook but it had taken until now for him to actually comprehend how much more work cooking and baking for 8 people was rather than for just 2. His hair was full of flour and chocolate cake batter was stuck on his cheek. With a fond smile, Eskel wiped it away.

“I´m sorry, love; do you want me to cook and bake? At least we'll have some cake batter left for an actual cake that way,” Jaskier stuck out his tongue but didn't deny the accusation. It would have been fruitless anyway. Instead he shook his head and rubbed his face on Eskel´s, making sure the flour and some batter landed on his batter free husband as well. Eskel shoved Jaskier away laughing but pulled him back instantly to give him a kiss. “Menace.” he mock-growled while Jaskier just laughed louder.

On days like these, days when they were happy and the butterflies in his stomach returned like on the day they'd started dating, on these days Eskel wondered how he could have ever gotten this lucky. After he'd moved out from home and started a small bookstore, he´d been more often alone than in company, had given up on love after a few unsuccessful flings and preferred to bury himself in books. At least that's how it was until this loud, pushy musician walked into his store, asking for a rare copy of an old play that Eskel actually could provide. And then he came back, again and again, sometimes looking for books, sometimes just chatting or bringing him tea. It must have taken Eskel weeks to realize this beauty was flirting with him, and many more to start flirting back, but in the end, he'd started to look forward to Jaskier´s visits, had offered him a chair to read in when Eskel was busy and they started to go to cafes and bars together. And here they were now, happy, married and with flour in their hair. Eskel couldn´t be happier, well, maybe he’d be a bit happier once the stupid house was done resisiting his attempts to be decorated. Why did he decide to put on the lights again? Ah yes, he'd wanted to look dashing and manly in front of his husband. Also Jaskier had initially refused to work in the cold, stating he preferred the warmth of a kitchen. And maybe it had something to do with the cooking shows Jaskier had been hooked on recently. He had been sure he could replicate some of those dishes.

“How about you decorate instead? After you get a jacket and mittens?” 

Jaskier nodded. “Deal!” he beamed at Eskel.

“Wait, has that been your plan all along?” Eskel accused a laughing Jaskier who was already running inside to change his clothes.

With an affectionate head shake he followed his husband at a slower pace, careful not to carry any snow into their freshly cleaned living room. With a sigh of relief, he stopped in front of the fireplace, feeling the warmth slowly creep back into his limbs.

Behind him, Jaskier, now equipped with a bright blue scarf, a jacket and a knitted hat that Eskel had made him in autumn, stopped and hugged his frame. “You´re not supposed to bake yourself, love,” he whispered into Eskel´s hair before he put a small kiss on the shell of his ear.

“Don't fall off the ladder and keep away from the fairy lights. They're evil.”

Jaskier just laughed and walked outside, infinitely more excited about putting on shiny christmas decorations than kneading dough it seemed.

Eskel watched after him with a small smile, putting the laughter into the box of happy memories he had in his head. He never wanted to forget about it.

The kitchen looked like a tornado had walked through it: several bowls were strewn over the counter and cake batter was on the floor. A small dusting of flour coated half the appliances and it looked like Jaskier had fled when the mixer started sputtering hot butter all over the place.

Eskel wanted to be annoyed or angry, but he could just shake his head. He knew Jaskier would clean this up if he asked and to be honest, he had expected something like this when his husband, who had never successfully made as much as a muffin, had gotten it into his head to make cookies and a cake for their guests as well as doing the cooking tomorrow. The shows certainly made it look easier than it was.

Eskel tidied up some space, leaving most of it for them to clean together when they were done with the preparations for today, and started a new batch of cookie batter as well as pie dough and cut apples. Soon the smell of cinnamon and chocolate wafted through the house and the apple pie looked like a small sun waiting to be put in the oven.

He could hear Jaskier working outside (that is, he heard some curses he hoped the neighbour kids would not repeat), but overall it seemed like Jaskier was much more suited to climbing into trees and up the garden trellis to attach lights than to baking. Between the curses, he sang jolly Christmas songs as loud as he could and Eskel hummed along while putting on the glazing on the apple pie.

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart…” Oh, hell. Not this! He wouldn't get this song out of his head for days… .Jaskier had come close enough for Eskel to hear the words he was singing and Jaskier made sure to sing this one extra loud, just for him.

The sun had set and the baking was cooling down, the flat smelled like apples and cinnamon, it was December and the day turned dark before most people were home from work, when Jaskier called out for Eskel to come outside.

His husband waited for him at the door, eyes shining brightly, cheeks red and snow dusting his head and shoulders like the flour had before. He looked as excited as a child.

“Come and look! No peeking.” Jaskier laughed and all but tackled Eskel until he could put his hands over his eyes. Eskel laughed too and went along, hoping he wouldn´t slip in the snow and break a leg two days before Christmas.

Jaskier led him outside and Eskel felt the chill on his arms. After being in the kitchen for hours, he´d rolled up his sleeves and the snow falling on his bare skin made him long for the warmth inside again, but Jaskier was so very excited that he couldn't care too much at that very moment.

After a few more steps, Jaskier turned them both around, standing behind Eskel, one hand still over his eyes, the other hugging him close, wrapped around his waist. “Okay, now! Tadaa!” Jaskier took the hand from Eskel´s eyes and he could hear a quiet clicking sound before the dark house lit up in colorful lights. The tree next to the kitchen window glowed in rainbow colors and the roof had delicate glowing icicles trailing along, while their windows were framed with red and green lights. It was tacky and over the top and absolutely perfect.

“It's beautiful.” Eskel breathed in awe and turned around to his husband, who was smiling full of pride at the work he'd done.

Jaskier looked at him with so much love Eskel felt his knees almost buckle. “You're freezing,” he mumbled and opened his jacket to hug Eskel with it. Pressed close together, their noses almost touched and Eskel wrapped his arms around Jaskier´s waist. Their breath puffed into the air as one cloud and he smiled at his blue eyes. 

“You're perfect.” Eskel whispered and was not sure if Jaskier´s eyes looked this shiny from the lights all around or something else.

Jaskier leaned even closer until their lips could meet and Eskel joined enthusiastically, trying to pull him even closer. “I love you,” they whispered at the same time and broke apart laughing.

Eskel knew this Christmas would be just as perfect as he´d always wished it to be, even when things would probably not go perfectly: Geralt would be grumpy, Lambert would curse and Yennefer would scold him for his language in front of Ciri, while Vesemir would fall asleep and also complain about the broken wood in their porch step that Eskel hadn't repaired yet, but in the end, he'd have his family, his husband, and so it would be exactly how it was always supposed to be.


End file.
